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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25539658">welcome to the club</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardropcrusader/pseuds/stardropcrusader'>stardropcrusader</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>High School AU, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-game AU, Saihara Shuichi-centric, Some Humor, a little angst later on, but not with the usual fanon pregame personalities, but the POV will switch around later on, slowburn, this is going to be Wholesome (for the most part)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:46:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,441</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25539658</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardropcrusader/pseuds/stardropcrusader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When he looked around the room and saw his ten closest friends all sitting around him, he finally felt at home. They had become his family over these past few months, and he wouldn’t trade it for the world.</p>
<p>They were a close knit group. Inseparable. Nothing could tear them apart.</p>
<p>Except maybe the thing that brought them all together in the first place.</p>
<p>----------</p>
<p>A wholesome spin on a ndrv3 pre-game AU.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akamatsu Kaede/Harukawa Maki, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>welcome to the club</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello!</p>
<p>Although this is a pre-game AU, the personalities are very reminiscent of their in-game counterparts, with only mild changes. I hope that isn't confusing for anyone!</p>
<p>I really wanted to try my hand at writing a ndrv3 pre-game story that wasn't edgy, and did more to focus on the lives these characters left behind, and the relationships they had with each other. This is what I've come up with. I don't know how long it'll end up being, but I have a lot of plans for this fic.</p>
<p>I've only tagged the main characters so far, but other characters will be tagged as they show up in the story. I may add some additional background ships as well. </p>
<p>Also, Shuichi has issues with anxiety, and they come up quite a bit, especially early on in the fic. Please read with caution! Stay safe!</p>
<p>Thank you for reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“You need to make friends.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He stares up at the ceiling from his spot on her bed. Her comforter is all white, which has always made him anxious— how has she not stained it? He lays on top of it anyway. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I have friends,” is his reply. He’s still staring. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He can hear her sigh in annoyance. It would make him nervous coming from anyone else, but not her. It’s a sound that he’s too familiar with coming from her. “You only have two friends, one of which is me. You need more. It’s, like, a little pathetic.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He turns his head to look at her. She’s already staring at him, lilac eyes not holding enough judgment to match the words she says. Kaede has always been like that, though. She means well. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m perfectly content with my two friends, thank you,” he says, hoping his frown speaks to how serious he is. He doesn’t need more friends. Then, so she doesn’t lecture him, he adds, “I don’t think I could handle having more— I barely have enough energy to keep up with you and Kokichi.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t miss the way her face scrunched up at the mention of his other friend, nor did he particularly care for it. “Okay, then. You need </span>
  <em>
    <span>new</span>
  </em>
  <span> friends. Ditch Ouma’s dumb little ass and let me introduce you to some new people.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He doesn’t bother trying to stick up for Kokichi to Kaede— not anymore. His other friend is an acquired taste, and honestly, he can’t really blame Kaede for not liking him. It certainly took him a while to warm up to the other boy. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Instead of answering, he looks back up at the ceiling. She sighs again, and lightly wacks his side with the back of her hand. He reaches over and nudges her back with his own hand, not having to look to aim considering she was laying right next to him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, fine, you can keep your little gremlin boyfriend,” she relents, grinning when he turns to give her a particularly nasty glare. “But you really should let me introduce you to some more people. I’m not saying you need ten more best friends, I’d kill you if you tried to replace me like that. But I am saying that you should talk to more than just two people. At least make some acquaintances. I can see the loneliness radiating off of you.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not lonely,” he grumbles. It’s a poor excuse for a lie, not even he believes it. Neither does Kaede, judging by the way she snorts at him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, okay, and I’m the ultimate pianist,” she laughs. He sees her sit up out of the corner of his eye, and watches her as she scoots off the edge of the bed and stands. He finally turns to look at her as she asks, “Anyway, I’m gonna order the pizza and grab a Coke. You want anything?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Grab me a soda too-- any kind, I’m not picky.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“‘Kay,” she agrees, pulling her phone out of the pocket of her pale pink sweatpants as she leaves the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi sighed to himself, deflating into the bed for a few moments before sitting up. He couldn’t believe Kaede actually expected them to eat </span>
  <em>
    <span>pizza </span>
  </em>
  <span>on her </span>
  <em>
    <span>all white comforter.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She was either crazy, or trying to give him a heart attack. Possibly both.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His gaze slid down to the fluffy pink throw blanket folded up at the foot of her bed. Would she notice if he spread it out over the bed? She probably would, and then she’d ask why he touched it, and he’d have to suffer through explaining to her why he couldn’t eat pizza on her white comforter. She’d probably laugh, and not intend to be mean about it, but he’d feel all awful and self conscious anyway. Bad idea.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But what if he got pizza sauce on her white comforter, or even worse, pizza </span>
  <em>
    <span>grease?</span>
  </em>
  <span> He could feel the panic bubbling up in his stomach just thinking about it. It would stain, and the comforter would be ruined. It was probably expensive-- it was large and soft. He’d ruin her comforter and the guilt would eat him alive for the rest of the night. Bad idea.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He went back and forth like this for a solid two minutes before scrambling to the edge of the bed for the throw blanket and spreading it out as best he could. It wouldn’t cover the entirety of Kaede’s queen sized bed, but he was at least able to cover the area where they would be sitting. It soothed his anxiety, at least for the moment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He glanced around the room idly from where he sat, not having anything better to do as he waited for her to return. A calender donned with pictures of cats sat on the wall, still on last month’s page. Most of the books on the bookshelf haven’t been read-- and a good number were gifts from him. Pictures were scattered over the wall above her desk, even from across the room he could recognize them. He’s looked over them dozens of times. Kaede with her family. Kaede with other kids he’s seen around throughout the years. Kaede with him. Her walls were a pale pink color, the same color they’d been since they were children.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi’s phone buzzed in his pocket, making him jump slightly and halting his bored observations. He pulled out his phone and couldn’t help but smile at the message that lit up the screen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Problematic Fave</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>[sent: 6:15 pm]</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span> shu wyd</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> u better not be busy</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> jk ik ur never busy</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Kinnie Discourse</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>[sent: 6:15 pm]</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span> i’m actually at kaede’s jhgfkdhg</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Problematic Fave</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>[sent: 6:16 pm]</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span> WTF!!!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> shuuuuu ditch her :(((</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Kinnie Discourse</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>[sent 6:16 pm]</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span> no</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> she’s getting pizza we’re gonna watch freddy vs jason</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Problematic Fave</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>[sent: 6:16 pm]</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span> u guys have watched that like 50000 times already!!!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> cmon u kno u wanna hang…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Kinnie Discourse</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>[sent: 6:16 pm]</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span> i do but we can’t tonight :(</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> tomorrow?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Problematic Fave</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>[sent: 6:17 pm]</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span> UGH</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> fine ok</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> but u owe me </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Kinnie Discourse</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>[sent: 6:17 pm]</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span> yeah sure</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> do i ever NOT “owe you”?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Problematic Fave</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>[sent: 6:17 pm]</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span> hehe yeah</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> ur kinda my bitch tbhhh ;P</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Please tell me you aren’t texting that gremlin in my bed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With an undignified yelp, Shuichi jumped and fumbled with his phone, managing to lock it and shove it back into his pocket before looking up at Kaede, who was standing in the doorway holding two cans of Coke. That was answer enough, but the sheepish grin he sent her way had her rolling her eyes anyway.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The absolute disrespect-- the </span>
  <em>
    <span>nerve, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Saihara! My room, no, my bed is an Ouma free zone!” she scoffed, playing up her mock offense to hide her actual offense.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“In my defense, it wasn’t actually texts, it was Discord. Also, he messaged me first,” he replied, his grin only widened as she groaned in annoyance.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kaede walked over with a huff, flopping over onto her spot on the bed. “You know I don’t care about the details,” she said, handing him one of the cans as she sat up. “And to think you betray me after I spend my time trying to make some new friends for you! Is this the thanks I get?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The grin is wiped clean off his face at that, “You did </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Now it’s Kaede’s turn to look smug. “I just messaged some friends of mine about finally meeting you! And they’re super excited! I talk about you a lot, y’know.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi’s face sours. He turns his attention down to the soda in his hands, popping the can’s tab and taking a swing before replying, “All bad things, I’m sure.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Psh, no! Mostly good stuff, scout’s honor!” Kaede insists, but she sounded a little too amused for Shuichi’s liking. “Anyway, they wanna know when you’re free. I mean, I’m assuming you don’t have plans, since I haven’t made any with you, so how does this weekend sound?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It sounds awful. I’m not doing it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Great, so I’ll tell them you said yes, and that you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>super </span>
  </em>
  <span>excited to meet them!” Kaede explained, whipping her phone out with her free hand before Shuichi could even groan in annoyance. “Oh, lighten up! This’ll be good for you. You’ll be thanking me in a few years when you’re a social butterfly like me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi wanted to melt into Kaede’s bed and disappear, but he was too worried about spilling his soda on her blankets to even lie back. “Can we just watch the movie so I can pretend you don’t exist for awhile?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kaede laughed at his misery as she turned on the TV.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was so, </span>
  <em>
    <span>so tired. </span>
  </em>
  <span>His eyelids felt so heavy, but they fluttered open anyway. His room was still dark, and his alarm hadn’t even gone off yet.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sluggishly, he turned his head to look at the alarm clock on his bedside table. He had to blink blearily at it a few times before he could make out the numbers. 5:54 AM. His alarm would be going off in six minutes anyway. No point in even pretending he could fall back asleep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>However, instead of getting up, he merely turned back up to face the ceiling. He’d spend his six minutes laying down and thinking about how tired he is. Like he does every other morning.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And just like every other morning, it’s his own fault he felt like this. He shouldn’t have stayed over at Kaede’s so late the night before. If he were a kid who could get trouble with his parents, wandering through the door at one in the morning on a school night would probably get him grounded. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But his parents weren’t home. And Kaede only lived next door, so Shuichi couldn’t think of one good reason why he couldn’t just stay at her house until the early morning. He was exhausted and sleep deprived every morning. At least today he had a reason.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His alarm blared. He sighed, slowly rolling over and tapping the button to silence it. It was time to get up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi’s morning routine was simple. He’d stagger out of bed, barely conscious, and make his way out of his room. He’d stumble down the long hallway, stopping only to stare at his parent’s (always empty always empty </span>
  <em>
    <span>always empty</span>
  </em>
  <span>) bedroom for a minute or two. Then he’d catch himself spacing out and make his way over to the too large bathroom at the end of the too long hallway.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The whole house felt too large. Too long. Why did his parents think they needed a house this huge? He was the only one who lived in it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi would take a shower, where he’d most likely dissociate for a while. Then he’d hop out and proceed to dissociate his way through his skincare routine. He’d make his way back through the too long hallway, he’d avoid looking at his parent’s room this time, and into his room. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His room, like every other room, was also too big. He made up for it by having too much stuff. He had three bookshelves dedicated to actually housing books, and two others used to house video games, DVD sets, and his collection of totally cool and not at all weird anime figures. Most of which were of Kyoko Kirigiri. His desk sat at the other end of the room, and had enough space for him to do his school work as well as hold his PC. A lone picture frame lived at the edge of the desk, the picture of himself and Kaede from the time they convinced Kaede’s parents to let them sleep in a tent together in her backyard for a week straight when they were twelve. There were bean bag chairs sitting in front of his flatscreen television, three in total, one for each of the only three people who ever set foot in here. The dark blue walls were plastered with posters. Most Danganronpa, some from other franchises he cared too much about. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His closet was built into the room, and was filled with dark colors. He wished there was less merit to the jokes both Kaede and Kokichi made about him being emo.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once he was dressed, he’d grab his bag from wherever he tossed it the night before (it happened to be next to his desk today) and walk downstairs. The kitchen was devoid of actual food. Shuichi would make a note to himself to go grocery shopping as he made his morning coffee, but he knew he wouldn’t. He’d stand next to the coffee maker as it brewed, idly looking over whatever notifications on his phone he’d missed during the night. He’d drink the first mug of coffee there too, standing in the same spot, busying himself on his phone. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He never spent time in the dining room, living room, or sitting room in the morning. Or whenever he was alone. The rooms were too large, too empty. Filled with expensive furniture nobody used, fancy decor nobody ever saw. It was depressing. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He’d simply fill up his travel mug and scurry out of the house, leaving it as empty as it always felt.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The crinkle of a plastic bag being swung back and forth could be heard as they walked down the street, overshadowed only by their voices.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone else outside on the block could definitely hear Kokichi’s laugh. It was loud, obnoxious, grating on the ears. It made Shuichi smile anyway.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, she blocked me after that. Which didn’t really do much, I have, like, fifteen different backup accounts,” Kokichi explained, his grin wide and mischievous. “And after I sent her </span>
  <em>
    <span>more </span>
  </em>
  <span>DMs, she even tried to private her account. Like, nice try, but this isn’t my first cyberbullying campaign. Long story short, she deactivated.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Y’know, I don’t think you should be as proud of that as you are,” Shuichi replied, shaking his head when Kokichi just giggled.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Cyberbullying builds character! Everyone will be thanking me in a few years when they’ve got a thicker skin.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I really don’t think that’s true. Nobody would thank you for bullying them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What, and you know everything, Shu?” Kokichi asked, his head tilting in mock confusion, but his grin remaining in place. “As someone who’s been a bully and bullied, I’d like to think of myself as an expert on this! We’ll see who gets the last laugh when the thank you cards start pouring in. I might even share some of the gifts with you if you apologize now!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They turned onto a side street, they’d be approaching Shuichi’s house soon. “You say that like you’d be some kind of poster child for bullying being a good thing. If anything-- you’re like the opposite,” Shuichi insisted, turning away from his friend to watch the sidewalk. “Since you used to be bullied, then became a bully yourself, I mean.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kokichi’s gasp was just as loud and obnoxious as his laughter from earlier. “Are you saying that I didn’t grow into a beautiful, fun, perfect person? Shu, that’s so </span>
  <em>
    <span>mean!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Shuichi could hear Kokichi’s voice wobble at the end, and it made him wince. “I thought we were friends! I woulda called you perfect! How could you be so </span>
  <em>
    <span>cruel </span>
  </em>
  <span>to lil ol’ me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sound of Kokichi sniffling finally made Shuichi risk a glance over at his friend. And the sight of his big eyes brimmed with tears made him stop in his tracks, his head whipping around to face him fully. “No-- Kokichi-- c’mon, I didn’t mean it like that,” he sputtered, his hands flailing as he panicked. “It wasn’t-- like-- supposed to be mean! I was just making a- a point!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kokichi sniffled again, his hands reaching up to wipe at his eyes. “It’s okay, you can bully me. I’m used to it! And-- and it just proves my point!” He looked up at Shuichi then, large eyes still watering and expression pinched into a look of hurt and innocence. “You’re bullying me, but I still think you’re a good person! So there!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-yeah, okay, sure-- I’m sorry,” Shuichi sputtered, too guilt ridden to detect the slight smugness in Kokichi’s voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kokichi wiped his eyes again, “I forgive you, but only if you’re super nice to me the rest of the day!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of-- of course I will be,” Shuichi agreed, his panic subsiding and thoughts slowing down to a manageable mile a minute. You’d think that after being Kokichi’s friend for so long, </span>
  <em>
    <span>eventually </span>
  </em>
  <span>he’d grow used to the other boy’s mood swings. But no such luck, even the slightest sniffle from Kokichi still threw him into a panic.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>(Kokichi knew this, of course, and never hesitated to use his friend’s anxiety against him. But what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him, right?)</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good!” Kokichi exclaimed, and with one last sniffle, all evidence of his crying vanished. They continued walking the short distance up the road to Shuichi’s house. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as they were inside, the plastic bag filled with junk food was abandoned on the coffee table so Kokichi could spread out across most of the couch in the living room. Shuichi followed him into the room a moment later, frowning at the sight of his friend’s shoes still being worn as he made himself comfortable on the furniture, but decided not to say anything. It’s not like his parents would be home anytime soon to see it anyway, so he supposed it didn’t matter.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi sat at the other end of the couch, and it wasn’t the first time he was grateful for his parents buying such a large one. He preferred not having to touch Kokichi’s shoes when he sat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, so, sooooo,” Kokichi droned, pulling his phone out of the front pocket of his overly large hoodie and scrolling through it idly. “What’re our plans for tonight?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi leaned back into his own spot, pulling his own phone out and opening Discord. He pretended to read through the messages he’d missed in his various servers. He just wanted to look busy. “Uh-- what do you mean? I thought we’d just, y’know, stay here and hang out.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>duh,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Shu! That’s what we always do,” Kokichi huffed, not looking up from his phone. “I’m asking what we’re gonna do while we’re here.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi knew where this was going. He tried to sink further into the couch, “We could… We could watch something… Or play some games..?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The smaller boy groaned dramatically, dropping his phone onto his chest. “Watch or play </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Shu?” he asked, voice exasperated.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi did not look up and meet his gaze. Instead, he simply held his phone even closer to his face in an effort to hide from his friend. Don’t make him pick. Please don’t make him pick. Have mercy. “I don’t-- ah, I don’t know. You can pick.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thankfully, Kokichi merely grinned at that, sitting up abruptly and grabbing for the television remote that sat on the table. His phone clattered to the floor, forgotten. “Yay! That’s just what I like to hear!” he exclaimed, shifting so that he was sitting properly next to Shuichi, his legs folded in front of him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi sighed in relief, visibly deflating and letting his own phone fall to his lap. He should’ve known. Reflexively, he tugged the brim of his hat down to cover his face for a few seconds until his nerves relaxed, and then tipped it back up to watch as Kokichi scrolled through his Netflix.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was a comfortable silence spent like this for a minute. Then Kokichi piped up with, “So, what did you do with Kaede last night?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi stole a glance at his friend out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that he was still looking intently at the television, he quickly did the same. “Uh, besides watch Freddy vs Jason?” Kokichi didn’t reply, so he took that as affirmation. “We talked about some stuff…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That got Kokichi’s attention, Shuichi could see his friend turn to face him from his peripheral vision. He had to fight the urge to cover his face. “Stuff like what? Be specific.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi looked down at his hands, fidgeting with his fingers nervously. “She-- she, ah, said I need more friends,” he paused for a moment, and when his companion said nothing, he felt compelled to continue. “On Saturday she’s having me meet some of her friends at this diner we go to sometimes. She wouldn’t tell me who I’m meeting-- just that she thinks we’ll get along.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kokichi groaned again, but this one sounded more genuine than when he just wanted permission to hog the remote all night. “I fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>she did something like this! You’ve been super anxious all day! I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re always neurotic, but you’re never </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>bad when it’s just us!” he blurted, leaning into Shuichi’s side. “Not to mention she’s wrong. You don’t need more friends!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi found some comfort in the contact, leaning into Kokichi as well. He found even more comfort in his words, though, and finally looked over at the other boy. “I don’t?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course not! Shu, you have the </span>
  <em>
    <span>privilege </span>
  </em>
  <span>of being my best friend. What other friends could you possibly need?” Kokichi asked. His voice was serious, but not in the genuine way it just was. He was trying too hard to manage his tone. He was trying to make Shuichi feel better. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It worked, at least a little bit. Shuichi found himself laughing as he looked back at the television, “You have a point. Maybe I should tell that to Kaede-- see if she’ll let me skip out on this meeting.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She better! If she doesn’t, tell her I’m gonna write a callout post about her and post it </span>
  <em>
    <span>everywhere!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She hasn’t done anything to deserve a callout, though. You’d have nothing to write.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kokichi snorted, “You think that’s ever stopped me before? I have an overactive imagination and decent photoshop skills. I can make up fake allegations and receipts so dumb you’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to believe they’re true.” He hooked his arm with Shuichi’s, as if trying to secure every possible ounce of his attention. “Now, what service has Steven Universe again? We’re gonna binge watch it from season one again until you’re a fan!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They sat curled up together watching cartoons for the rest of the night. Shuichi didn’t think about the meeting once.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The weekend came quickly. Too quickly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shuichi hardly slept the night before. That was fairly standard for him, but the fact that he was up all night trying to calm his anxiety about this meeting made him feel more exhausted than usual. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was hard enough for him to deal with social gatherings in general, but this one was especially nerve wracking. This was a social gathering with </span>
  <em>
    <span>expectations.</span>
  </em>
  <span> They were meeting him with the specific goal of trying to befriend him. There was probably nothing Shuichi hated more than being the center of attention.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>nightmare.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He spent the night tossing and turning, obsessing over what he was going to say to these strangers to make them want to befriend him. In the morning he obsessed over what to wear. By the time Kaede barged into his room unannounced at noon to pick him up, he was frantically trying to figure out which of his plain black baseball caps he would wear.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When he tried to explain to her that they were all different shades of black, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes it did matter, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kaede simply scoffed and grabbed one at random, shoving it onto his head as she ushered him out the door.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” Kaede finally asked well into their drive. She’d been driving, so she only noticed just how badly Shuichi was fidgeting in his seat when she had to look his way to make a turn.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He hesitated for a moment, before finally admitting, “No, not really.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kaede didn’t say anything for a few minutes, just kept driving, humming along with the music she was playing on her car’s stereo. Shuichi didn’t think much of it, but understood what was happening immediately when she pulled into the parking lot of the nearest McDonald’s and stopped.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She turned to him with a serious expression and a slight frown. “Can you handle meeting my friends? I’ll understand if you can’t, and I won’t be disappointed or upset. I can text them right now and cancel, and then we can just spend the day together watching dumb movies at your place or something.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kaede was such a good friend, it ate Shuichi up inside. “No--no, don’t text them. I can handle it,” he lied. Partly because despite her words, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kaede would be disappointed. Not in him, but in general. Just as much as he’s been dreading it, he knew Kaede was looking forward to this. He couldn’t take that away from her. The guilt at even the thought of it could kill him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She stared at him for a moment, clearly not buying it. Shuichi stood his ground, trying to still his fidgety hands as best as he could and hold her stare. The eye contact was brutal. He’d nearly given in before she sighed and ran a hand through her blonde hair. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, I won’t cancel. But you have to promise me that if it gets to be too much, you’ll let me know, okay? We can leave whenever.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Deal,” Shuichi agreed, giving Kaede the most convincing smile he could manage.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” she said, mirroring his smile with one of her own. “I know you’re not gonna believe me, but I’m gonna say it anyway. You’ve got nothing to worry about today. We’re only meeting two people, and they’re, like, my closest friends after you. You’ll have lots in common with them, too!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t really believe her, but he still replied, “Yeah? I can’t wait to meet them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know that’s a lie, but I appreciate it anyway,” she giggled, putting the car back into drive and pulling up to the drive through. “Now, let me at least buy you a coffee, it’ll help calm your nerves.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <span>The coffee didn’t calm him down at all, but the sensation of burning his tongue as he drank it without letting it cool down was distracting enough. He was as ready as he’d ever be for something like this, he just hoped Kaede wouldn’t be </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>disappointed when her friends ended up hating him.</span>
</p>
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